"The fact that state law allows the use of medical marijuana and that we have a population with a high rate of AIDS that might need to use medical marijuana may contribute to the rates," says Alice Gleghorn, deputy director of community behavioral health services in San Francisco's Department of Public Health. "We do have a cultural regional norm with regard to medical-marijuana use."

The coastal area north of San Francisco, included in the study as part of the metropolitan area, is known as a popular marijuana growing spot. "Where marijuana is very accessible, you're going to get higher use," Gleghorn says.

And yet, no matter what else you can say about today's panel, it makes me want to live in a place without gravity where people have only 4 toes.

Monday, March 26, 2007

At any rate, since Mallard's wants to agree with that NYT article, I offer the following quote:

Typically, the concern is not over the existence of climate change, or the idea that the human production of heat-trapping gases is partly or largely to blame for the globe’s recent warming. The question is whether Mr. Gore has gone beyond the scientific evidence.

Oh, and as a service to certain readers, I am going to spell "thermometors" incorrectly, so you have license to simply ignore everything.

Concern peaked in the early 1970s, partly because of the cooling trend then apparent (a cooling period began in 1945, and two decades of a cooling trend suggested a trough had been reached after several decades of warming), and partly because much less was then known about world climate and causes of ice ages. Although there was a cooling trend then, it should be realised that climate scientists were perfectly well aware that predictions based on this trend were not possible - because the trend was poorly studied and not understood...However in the popular press the possibility of cooling was reported generally without the caveats present in the scientific reports.

The term "global cooling" did not become attached to concerns about an impending glacial period until after the term "global warming" was popularized. In the 1970s the compilation of records to produce hemispheric, or global, temperature records had just begun.

While neither scientists nor the public could be sure in the 1970s whether the world was warming or cooling, people were increasingly inclined to believe that global climate was on the move, and in no small way.

In 1972 [Caesare] Emiliani warned "Man's activity may either precipitate this new ice age or lead to substantial or even total melting of the ice caps"

Mallard's entitled to his own set of opinions, but not his own set of facts.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Thomas Sowell, Climate scientists on the payroll of the energy industry, the mainstream media.

Mallard: The Energizer Flat Earther, he just keeps going, and going, and going...

Next thing he'll be trotting some long-forgotten chestnuts: the sun revolves around the earth and a good blood-letting should cure that disease.

Update: I'd like to highlight the excellent point NLC makes in the comments regarding the imprecise use of the term "open-minded" by Mallard. It is imprecise to say that scientists who examine data and reach a conclusion are not being open-minded; that, after all, is what Scientists do.

To draw an analogy, at a certain point there was not much to be gained by Scientists remaining open-minded about the possibility that dumping one's waste matter into the street (Gardez L’eau!) was not contributing to Cholera epidemics. Once a consensus developed, it led to the proliferation of indoor plumbing, despite the fact that I am sure one of Mallard's 19th century ancestors could be found on a street corner screaming that he'd always crap into a chamber pot, no matter what some damn egghead said.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Canadian National Curling Team, Uncle Billy, scientists on the payroll of the energy industry, the mainstream media.

I feel like I need to pace myself, because we're going to have to go through this all over again in 2-3 weeks when "Al Gore testifies" panels start appearing.

So I'll just say two things:1. Whatever one may think of scientific consensus, insulting Canada and Curling is just a low blow.2. There's a Fillmore Foundation? For what? The advancement of mediocrity in combined visual and written media?

Monday, March 19, 2007

There are so many things about this panel that make it utterly detestable. Like the fact that Mallard still proudly counts himself among the flat-earthers who reject climate change. Like the unnecessary commas in the title of the documentary. Like the utter illogic of this flimsy stretch of a premise.

But, what really stands out most is the grotesque caricature of god knows who. I know some readers will focus on the, as always, closed eyes. But I'd like to ask why it is that Mallard thinks an elongated chin is a necessary component of a caricature?

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Mallard continues his education call to arms with a grass-roots campaign in favor of an increase in the budget for the Department of Education and a hike in his Local, State, and Federal taxes in order to improve education across America.

Mallard also points out that the decrease in education standards occurred during the period of Republican ascendancy since Richard Nixon.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Is it just me or does the fact that the students are hissing and booing censorship, book bans, speech codes, and ideological litmus tests make no sense in the presumed context of the panel? I'm guessing Mallard's thought it would be clear the students are booing the things which straw administrator is planning to censor and ban.

But that was just wishful thinking on his part, undermined by his lack of understanding of composition and the workings of the English language.

As it is, it's just reads like a nonsensical right-wing rant. And, thus, order returns to Mallard's universe.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

After a week of mildness, it's nice to see Mallard back on track with a standard bit of sophistry today. The combination of straw man liberal, a straw man argument, and a series of hot-button code words into something completely incoherent which will appeal to the lunatic fringe.

I confess, however, that I do enjoy the image of Mallard coming across a factoid about deaths-by-hippo and thinking to himself "How can I use this against liberals?"

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

I guess it's just to much to ask for Mallard to actually look at a picture of a person before attempting a caricature. Unless that's all part of the meta-text of this particular joke. This is actually a picture of no one in particular but we're all willing to accept that it might as well be Joe Biden.

Then again, it's possible this is as close as Mallard wants to come to commenting on Biden's ill-chosen comments regarding BarackObama. Though that would show a level of decorum I doubt he actually possesses.

Update: Thanks to the commenter for correcting my spelling of "Barack". As I was saying to someone the other day in response to a question of what I though of Senator Obama: I refuse to pay attention until next year some time. Apparently that extends to learning how to spell his name.

Monday, March 05, 2007

I wish that, as part of my job, I could also invent scenarios out of whole cloth that made my job easier. "That software was released last week, that's why I am playing solitaire."

I have to confess that first panel really threw me, however. Given that the rest of the panel is completely explicit in referencing the Clintons. I was trying to pull from memory some cookie-baking incident or massage that into a fat joke.

Then I realized Mallard substituted this for "didn't inhale" for reasons passing understanding.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

In my attempt to ignore today's cutting edge humor (oh boy, kids today...are they ever better than grown-ups at the video games!), I unfortunately came face-to-face with the realization that Mallard may have procreated.

The absurdity of the fact that a duck sired a vaguely ethic child does not in any way ameliorate my feelings of nausea.